Solomon Woodruff

Family Biography from: Livonia History 1789 - 1989.

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Historical marker on Federal Road.

Solomon Woodruff and other Woodruffs came from Litchfield, South Farms, Connecticut. Although Solomon does not show in the New York State census of 1790, we assume this is because he returned to Connecticut to bring his family to New York. There is a Solomon Woodruff in the Connecticut census of 1790, probably his ancestor.

Solomon, Orange, Oliver and Andrew Woodruff were brothers who came at different times. Oliver was among the early settlers in 1804. He lived in Livonia until ninety years old and died in 1845. His children were: Sidney, Bushrod Washington, Birdsey, Steptoe, Ann S. and Olive. His sons were named after military gentlemen. Oscar was a grandson of Oliver, son of Bushrod Washington. He became an influential newspaper man in Dansville.

Solomon’s son, Austin, was a cattle drover who roamed in his cattle dealings from the east to New York and west to Michigan. Philip was Sol’s first son born in Livonia and became a noted lawyer. Solomon Jr. was another son, and Morris, Jeremiah, and Marina were also Sol’s children. Susannah, his wife, died in 1828. Solomon Woodruff died January 18, 1811. He is buried in Union Cemetery on Big Tree Road in Livonia. His grandson, Solomon G. Woodruff, was a noted banker in Livonia. Buell was also a grandson, son of Austin.

Solomon Woodruff has the distinction of being the first settler in the Livonia - Hemlock Lake area. He arrived, alone, in 1789 with a rifle and knapsack on his back. Next he proceeded to purchase lot number 32 (a total of one hundred fifty acres for $.50 per acre). Solomon wisely planted potatoes with the seed he brought from Connecticut. In the fall and with his potato harvest, Solomon trekked to Canandaigua and sold his crop. With the proceeds from the sale, he paid for the farm. During the growing season Solomon had constructed a log house for shelter. Fall, however, was a time to return to his hometown of Litchfield Connecticut to be rejoined with his wife and child.

February is a cold month, and a wretched month to travel by sleigh. Solomon was determined to relocate at his newly purchased farm in Pittstown overlooking Hemlock Lake. After twenty-six days of bitter weather on a crude sled drawn by a pair of two year old oxen, an infant son died. The son was buried near a bleak hillside in Bristol. Finally, upon reaching the cabin, they were shocked to discover the cabin had been burned by Indians. They had no recourse but to go to the nearest neighbor, Peter Pitts, seven miles away at the foot of Honeoye Lake. Mrs. Woodruff and her son remained there until their own cabin could be erected.

On February 19, 1794 the first child was born to the Solomon Woodruff family, a son named Philip. This was to be a good year for the Woodruffs, for they enlarged their home into a tavern to accommodate the stream of travelers coming into the region. There is a story that the exiled King of France stayed overnight in the tavern. Moreover, the King supposedly cut a cane from the large elm tree which stands near the road in front of the Josiah Short Farm (now on Clay Street in Hemlock). The cane was taken by the King back to France and eventually became housed in a national museum in Paris. So goes the story : )

Frank Woodruff later farmed his great-grandfather’s (Sol’s) land. Many Woodruffs held political office as supervisors, or school commissioner, and helped form the Town of Livonia as we know it. There are still Woodruff descendants in the Livonia area.

The sign shown in the picture at the top of this page is on Federal Road just south of the intersection with Big Tree Road in Livonia. The view of Hemlock Lake from the hill is spectacular.